Northern Spotted Owl

The Northern Spotted Owl has been on the province’s red list since 1989 and is a candidate for endangered status under the BC Wildlife Act. Spotted owls require contiguous areas of older aged forests for foraging, roosting and nesting. The SCM plan area appears to be the northern edge of their range. Inventories over the past six years have confirmed three spotted owl nesting sites and several other areas with at least single birds.

Forestry activities in spotted owl habitat are guided by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2003 between the main forest licensee and provincial regulatory agencies and the Spotted Owl Operational Plan approved in April 2004.

General issues across the plan area will be addressed below, followed by management plans specific to individual populations.

Issues:

Current resource development planning does not address habitat requirements for spotted owls.
There are concerns about whether Coastal harvesting guidelines for spotted owls are appropriate for local forests.

Goals:

A stable northern spotted owl population with well-distributed, suitable habitat.
Manage resource development and use activities to provide sufficient quantities of suitable habitat to sustain spotted owls over their natural range.

Objectives	Management Direction/Strategies	Measures of Success/Targets	Intent
1 Manage resource development and use activities to provide sufficient quantities of suitable habitat to sustain spotted owls over their natural range.	1.1 Incorporate the latest inventory information in the management plan	Interim management of long-term activity centres according to the Memorandum of Understanding and Spotted Owl Operational Plan started by 2004 Spotted owl recovery plans completed and implemented Spotted owl populations maintained Spotted owl management achieved using the interim timber harvesting land base planning allowance of 5,000 hectares	The goal of this management plan is to develop effective, science-based management for the conservation of owls while providing opportunities for economic development (logging, mining, tourism, ranching, etc.) Resource management plans should be consistent with direction provided by government-approved plans (e.g., the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding; Spotted Owl Operational Plan; Spotted Owl Recovery Strategy; Spotted Owl Recovery Action Plan; Spotted Owl Management Plan) Resource management plans should be adapted to local forest conditions In long-term activity centres, as defined by the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding, suitable habitat conditions exist where: 67% of the forested land has forests that are at least 100 years old confirmed nest sites are surrounded by timber harvesting reserves of sufficient size
	1.2 Apply the best scientific information available to develop a plan suited to the forest types of this area
	1.3 Define“ viable population” in the management plan
	1.4 Develop strategies to mitigate adverse effects of development on spotted owl nesting sites, roosting sites, forage areas and home ranges
	1.5 Encourage participation of timber and mineral tenure holders, industry representatives, and the ministries of Energy and Mines and Forests, in order to ensure the management plan addresses industrial interests
	1.6 The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection should provide habitat mapping in a timely manner to forest licensees, affected mineral tenure holders, and the ministries of Forests, Energy and Mines, and Sustainable Resource Management
2. Conserve suitable habitat within long-term activity centres (see map)	2.1 WLAP should provide spotted owl inventory findings to forest resource managers for incorporation into forest stewardship plans	Minimize disturbance to confirmed nests or roosting sites by mechanized industrial, commercial, and recreational activities, when the sites are most likely to be occupied (March to September) Disturbance of occupied nests or roosting sites avoided	These strategies are intended to apply to long term activity centres at least until the spotted owl management plan is developed and implemented. Some aspects (e.g., timber reserves) may be incorporated into the management plan and continue indefinitely With respect to forest development activities in confirmed spotted owl areas, the intent is to conserve viable habitat for nesting pairs while providing opportunities for harvesting Impacts to forest development activities are subject to timber harvesting land base planning allowance for spotted owls (see Table 1 in the Timber and Silviculture section) With respect to mineral activities in long term activity areas, the intent is to avoid impacts to documented nesting or roosting sites, while allowing exploration and development The Copper Creek activity centre overlaps a large block of mineral claims. Management for owls should take into consideration the legal rights and obligations of mineral tenure holders
	2.2 Boundaries of long term activity areas should be refined to include the latest available field information
	2.3 Maintain 67% of suitable forested land in each long term activity centre has forests that are at least 100 years old
	2.4 Place timber harvesting reserves around all confirmed nests. Reserves should be of sufficient size
	2.5 Until the spotted owl management plan is prepared, mineral activities in long-term activity centres will continue to be managed through standard mining regulations
	2.6 Where a timber harvesting reserve overlaps a mineral tenure, regulatory agencies (WLAP, MEM, MOF) should work with the tenure holder to develop practical steps to conserve nesting or roosting sites during mineral exploration and development activities
3. Integrate spotted owl management with management for other environmental resources (e.g., old growth management areas)	3.1 When placing old growth management areas consider overlaps on owl habitat
	3.2 Wherever possible, overlap suitable spotted owl habitat with other compatible interests
4. Increase knowledge and information available on spotted owl populations and habitats	4.1 Complete population inventories with the focus on higher priority areas. Highest priority areas for inventories should be where forest development is imminent	Improved information about spotted owl habitat and populations
5. Minimize disturbance to confirmed nests or roosting sites by mechanized industrial, commercial, and recreational activities, when the sites are most likely to be occupied (March to September)		Disturbance of occupied nests or roosting sites avoided.
6. Maintain connectivity and dispersal habitats between long-term activity centres

Main Sections